Mistaken Identity
by Northern One
Summary: She's the notsonew girl running from her past.  She's starting over a new name, a new story, a new look.  But there's something about her that just sparks something in him.  LashxOC UPDATED chapter three up!
1. Chapter 1

Mistaken Identity

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize! I only lay claim to Kristen/Alex_

**Chapter One**: She can hide, but she won't run anymore.

* * *

"Next stop, Sky High!"

She looked up from the book she had been reading, pushing her glasses further up her nose to get a good look at the bus driver. He was grinning manically back at the thirty something kids on the bus, all of whom were looking at him rather oddly as if he were crazy. She knew what was coming next; she'd taken this bus ride several times before, but the kids around her had not. It was the first day of high school for these freshmen, where as she was already a senior and veteran at the bus ride. Sighing rather defeatedly, she took off her glasses and tucked them away neatly into her book bag along with her book. The short, scrawny pug nosed boy who was sitting beside her looked at her curiously before proceeding to open up the package of cupcakes he had in his hand.

"I'd put those away" she warned him, settling herself in for the violent jolt forward they were about to experience. They were halfway across the bridge and she knew that any time now, the rear thrusters would kick in and they would be rocketed forward. Defiantly, the boy tore at the packaging with more vigor and withdrew one of the icing topped treats, giving her a smug smile. She glanced at him sympathetically and then looked around at the other freshmen. Suddenly, the seatbelts appeared out of no where and strapped them in, the bus filled with the slight sound of murmurs as the students discussed the straps holding them in place and the bar infront of him to hold onto. Looking forward, she couldn't see the bridge anymore, which meant that…

WHAM. Her ears were filled with screams and cries as every single occupant of the bus was thrown forward, out of their seats, except her. She had prepared herself and remained neatly in her seat while the rest of the kids adjusted to the transition. She looked over her shoulder to her seat neighbour who was glancing around in shock, his face clouded by white icing and bits of chocolate cupcake. The miniature cake had, just as she warned, been the first thing his face collided with as soon as they plummeted off of the bridge. Half of the cupcake remained in his hand while the other covered his face. He finally met her eyes and she grinned at him, shrugging.

"Told you"

* * *

Ten minutes later, the bus came to a halt on the school grounds, which hovered about forth thousand feet above the earth, hidden among the clouds. They all disengaged from their seats and as soon as she exited the bus, her feet made contact with the ground and she was filled with the familiar sensation of the gentle hum the anti-gravitational machines gave. It was as if there was a soft tickling feeling in your feet wherever you walked on campus because of the machines and the constant whirling of the propulsion devices. Breathing in deeply, she looked at the prestigious looking school through her navy blue, plastic square frame glasses with a little bit of anxiousness. It'd been over a year since she'd last been at Sky High, the only high school for kids who demonstrated superhero abilities. It was a school where, with the proper guidance, those with the strongest powers went on to become some of most famous superheroes of all time. Those who didn't exactly measure up went on to become 'Hero Support', a more politically correct term for sidekick.

She walked onto the lawn and stood infront of the school, looking at it rather expectantly. Nothing had changed about it; nothing, even the grass looked the same. The school still had the same, unbearably intimidating stature that it always had and she felt as if it was her first day at Sky High again. But it wasn't. She was back at Sky High after about a year and half absence and after personally writing to Principal Powers, she was once again enlisted in the Heroes class, back with the same class she'd started with about two years ago. There was something about having a parent die that made people want to make exceptions for you, and she knew that very well.

She had been pulled out of school three quarters of the way into her first year. She'd been in P.E training in hand to hand combat when Principal Powers called her to her office. She still remembered looking back at her class, telling her friends to go on without her while she went to see what Powers wanted. The nods and smiles of her friends would be the last she would see of them for a while. After that meeting with Powers, she would never go back to Sky High, not until today. Her mother, Georgie Force, or more commonly known to the world as G-Force since she had the ability to both fly and run at tremendous speeds, and her father, Hank Force, or Mind Man since he had the ability to control the elements with his mind, had been in an accident while on a distress call. They both had been hospitalized with critical injuries and for three months, they remained in the hospital, trying to recover. Just as her classmates and friends were finishing school for the year, she was sitting on the windowsill of her parents hospital room, praying that they would recover. But the prayer only came true for one of them.

Her mother passed away peacefully one night, in her sleep; her internal injuries insurmountable. Her father slowly began to recuperate though, and for the next year she would spend her days tending for him and making sure everything was taken care of. But eventually, he got better, well enough that he no longer needed her around to care for him twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. After assuring her that he would be fine on his own, she enlisted back in Sky High to complete her Hero training. And now, she was mere steps away of entering the same place that held memories of the old her; the girl whose biggest concern on certain days was whether or not a boy in her heroes class noticed her or whether or not her shoes matched her outfit. She went from carefree to responsible in a blink of an eye and it was too late to try and go back to the way things were before. She'd changed so much; physically as well, which is why some of her classmates who were arriving at school didn't even look her way. She recognized them, but they didn't recognize her.

When she had started, she had been a short, gawky looking kid with unruly dark brown hair and bottle cap glasses covering her light brown eyes. Now, she stood at a tall 5'8 and had a very slender build to her body. Her hair was no longer bushy and frizzy; it was long and fell into gentle waves that tumbled along her shoulders romantically. She no longer sported her bottle cap frames, instead, trading them in for a sleeker, more mature look with her square frames. She had grown up a lot in the past year and a half and now looked as mature as she felt. She had gone from awkward and gangly to beautiful and strong.

Her appearance wasn't the only thing that had changed. She had changed her name as well. There was something about being the daughter of one of the most famous Superhero's in the world that made it nauseating to have people recognize her by her name. She looked a lot like her mother as well; long, tumbling hair and distinctive, light brown almost amber eyes. But it was her last name that always got her unwanted attention; as soon as people heard Force, they automatically knew who she was. After she'd been attacked by sympathetic fans of her mother's one day at the mall, she'd had enough and decided to change her name. Kristen Force quickly became Alexandra George, a girl who didn't draw nearly as much attention to herself now that she went under another name.

Principal Powers had agreed to let her live under her alias and for some reason, she was looking forward to starting over. There would be no awkwardness since no one would know about her past and about her mother. They had agreed during their correspondence that her story would be just like any other; she fell into a vat of toxic waste by accident and had been home schooled by her parents for the first two years of her Hero education. They had also agreed to say that since she was so intelligently advanced, she would be placed in her age class of third year instead of starting as a freshman, which was true. She was ridiculously smart. She would be under totally anonymity and no one would know who she truly was, unless she told them, which she wasn't planning on doing. She wasn't keen for people to know who she was, since her first year at Sky High hadn't exactly been picture perfect. She was rather eager to start over again and break away from the confines which had held her captive for the past two years. She was ready to leave it all behind.

The bell rang and she hurried forward, up the stairs and into the school. Out of memory, her feet took her directly to Principal Powers's office, where she had been ordered to go to the first day to get her schedule and school information. After a couple of seconds, the Principal's pretty face emerged in the doorway and she was hit with a rather broad smile that scared her slightly.

"Ah, Alexandra! I was expecting you, come in" the principal say, greeting her as she gestured for her to enter. She did so hesitantly and sat down on one of the plush chairs across from Powers's desk.

"I know you must be eager to get to your classes so here is your schedule and locker information. Also, I'm going to have to ask you to head over to the gym for Power Placement with the new students. I'm sure you can understand how we just want to make sure that you are still powerfully capable of handling the Hero curriculum" Principal Powers said with a smile, handing a file across the desk to Alex, who took it and then nodded. She examined her schedule briefly and then got up, moving to the door.

"Thanks Principal Powers, I don't want to be too late. I'm going to assume that all my teachers know about me?" she asked as she turned the knob, the door poised to open. Principal Powers nodded and then smiled at Alex with that same, slightly terrifying smile.

"Indeed. Have a great day Alexandra"

* * *

"Name?"

"Alexandra George"

"Power?"

"Telekinesis and super speed, flight and on foot"

"Two hero parents, eh?"

"No sir, a vat of toxic waste, sir" she responded, slightly intimidating by the man's aggressive barking and tone of voice. He scribbled something down on his clipboard and then pulled out a controller.

"Car" he barked, and immediately the reasonably banged up car suspending from the ceiling came plummeting downwards. She raised her hands and the car slowed down, hovering just above the palms of her hands when it finally came to a stop. With a flick of her wrists, the car went rocketing sideways, hitting the gym wall with a deafening boom of metal on metal. The freshmen below her murmered appreciatively but Coach Boomer didn't look all that impressed. By the time she had turned to look at him to get her placement, she found herself being rocketed sideways, the floor above her shooting her upward. She pulled into flight and then brought herself back down on the platform, glaring at the Coach frustratingly.

"Thanks for the warning" she said in an annoyed tone of voice, gathering her things. Coach Boomer shrugged and then barked out her placement.

"Hero. Okay, you with the funny looking shirt, front and centre" he barked, moving onto the freshmen. She hoped off the platform and made her way towards the gym door, making her way to the second floor Art room where the third year students were currently learning how to pain. When she arrived, she knocked on the door shyly and waited outside, the door being pulled open a second later by a very pretty elderly women with bright blue eyes. Wearing a paint-mattered smock, brown loafers and large glasses, she beamed broadly at Alex before holding out a paint-flecked hand.

"You must be the new student, Alexandra George. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Mrs. Bromely. Please, come in, we'll find you a station to work at" she said, Alex shaking her hand with a little hesitation before following the teacher into the class. As soon as she saw her classmates, she immediately recognized most of them. Erika Peck, a rather odd girl who had the power to metamorphosis into anything she wished, was still short and still had shockingly purple hair. Logan Kane, a football sized young man who could fly, was still as big as she remembered him to be. Even Frankie Douglas, a silly looking boy who could shoot lasers from his eyes, looked the same. Not much had changed with them, but so much had changed for her.

"Do you have any experience with art in any form?" Mrs. Bromely asked her as the teacher went over to a cupboard, pulling out several different articles including a smock, paintbrushes and palates.

"I've been taking art lessons since I knew how to walk. Mom always had a flare for the arts" she said, making Mrs. Bromely turn to look at her and smile sadly. There it was; that smile. It was the smile that people gave you when something bad happened. It was the awkward, 'I don't really know what else to do' smile.

"Yes, I remember. Your mother was probably one of the most gifted artists to ever attend Sky High. I'm sure you'll be just as wonderful!" the teacher said, changing subjects like a professional as she guided Alex to an empty station, complete with an stand and blank canvas waiting for her.

But instead of letting Alex get to work, Mrs. Bromely merely placed the items on Alex's stool and then pushed her gently towards the front of the class. Before Alex could even protest, the teacher was speaking.

"Class! Attention" Mrs. Bromely said. A few students heard her and silenced, but the majority of them continued to talk. After a couple of seconds, Mrs. Bromely clapped her hands once and sent a shockwave throughout the class, bringing them all to attention at once. She smiled satisfactorily.

"Thank you. Class, this is Alexandra George, your new classmate. She was recently accidentally pushed into a vat of toxic waste. She will be finishing the last two years of her high school education here along with your third year class. Any questions for Ms. George?" she asked, side stepping so that Alex was now in full view.

After a couple of seconds of an excruciatingly awkward silence, she saw a stripped arm raise itself in the air, extending much further then a normal arm would. She couldn't see his face since it was shielded by his stand and canvas, but she knew who it was. Her heart seemed to beat a little bit faster as soon as the black and white bands came into view. It was him. She suddenly felt as if someone has raised the temperature in the room up twenty degrees.

"Powers?" he asked, his voice going off in her internal recognition system immediately.

She responded by raising her hand upward, palm to the roof. His canvas began to levitate as well, floating up high enough so that she could now get a full view of his face. He smirked in response to this, looking up at his raised canvas impressively.

"I'm telekinetic. I can also run and fly really fast" she explained, lowering her hand and setting his canvas back down. The class murmered appreciatively and then she looked at Mrs. Bromely, who nodded once to Alex's silent question to go sit down. She went over to her station, taking off her sling bag and black velvet jacket she had been wearing all morning to reveal a very pretty dark purple tunic styled top. She picked up her supplies and set them up around her, checking the bristles on her brushes. She put on her smock and was about to sit down on her stool when she stopped.

"It's the stripes that give you away" she said to no one in particular, turning around to look at him. He was smirking at her arrogantly and she looked down. From across the room, he had extended his arm so far that it latched onto the leg of her stool, threatening to pull it out from under her as she went to sit.

She walked over to him slowly, slipping her hands into the pockets of her smock as she approached him. She finally reached him and then stuck out her hand, smiling shyly at him.

"Alexandra or Alex. I figure I may as well try and be nice to you so that I can save myself from any other embarrassment attempt you may have planned for me" she said, making him smile and shrug in guiltiness.

He was still as handsome as he had been two years ago. He was taller now, and lankier, which was probably due to the constant stretching of his limbs. His face was still as gentle as it always had been, and his eyes just as dark. His hair was different though; no longer short and spiked, but longer and arranged messily so that it brushed his forehead in that skater like fashion that seemed to be sweeping the nation.

"You can be nice to me all you want, but I'm not going to stop whatever I have planned for you, sorry" he replied mockingly, standing up and wiping his hands off with a paint splattered rag. She laughed at him, knowing from his tone of voice that he was joking.

He laughed as well and once his hand was satisfactorily cleaned, he matched it in her's and shook it firmly.

"I'm Lash"

**((Author's Note:** **Hey everyone!! This is my first try at a Sky High fic, so bear with me. I LOVEEE reviews. Support, construction, anything. Flames make me kinda mad though, so really, if you don't have anything supportive or constructive to say, I'd really prefer you don't say anything at all :) Reviews own my life, so click that little purple button:)**


	2. Chapter 2

Mistaken Identity

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize! I only lay claim to Kristen/Alex_

**Chapter Two**: Without Words

* * *

"So you guys just inflict pain and intimidate the freshmen and sidekicks all the time?"

She watched him exchange a look with a shorter, stumpy looking boy. After a couple of seconds, he returned his eyes back towards her and nodded, giving a sarcastic shrug as his eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint. A burst of laughter came from the northern corner of the cafeteria and the three of them looked that way, seeing a blonde girl shoot ice from her finger tips to freeze a boy who was about to rocket a spoonful of pudding her way.

"Pretty much. We could use a TK though, if you're interested in joining. Although for Save the Citizen, you're on your own. Me and Speed are undefeated" Lash said, smirking at her. She laughed and then unscrewed the top of her water bottle, poising it at her lips to take a drink.

"Wait, TK?" she asked, stopping the motion and looking at him skeptically. He nodded, his mouthful of the sandwich he was eating, and then nudged Speed to reply for him. The two of them always seemed to know what the other was thinking, but then again, that tended to sort of happen when you'd been friends for as long as they had.

"Telekinetic. It's actually pretty cool; we could do some serious damage with you on our side. You should think about it, we've never really offered anyone a position on our team before. Consider yourself very, very lucky" Speed said, finishing his sentence with a bad English accent and a flourish of his hands. She laughed in response and then brought her elbows onto the table, placing her head in her hands and glancing at them with a mock sense of admiration. She was blinking extremely fast and giving them a very odd sort of smile.

"Really? WOW, I don't know what to say. Well of course I'd like to thank my mother, and my father, and everyone whose supported me over the years…" she started, making them both laugh. She laughed along with them and then looked around the cafeteria, taking it all in. She'd forgotten what it felt like to fit in and to have friends. For the longest time, her friends had consisted of her father, her plants, and her books. Her social skills pretty much fell to the wayside, but she was finding that they were all coming back quickly. She even found herself flirting, or flirting back, with Lash, who had seemed to take quite a liking towards her.

They'd spent the rest of the art period goofing off, splattering paint on each other's canvas' in no particular fashion. When Mrs. Bromely had come around to inspect their paintings and to ask for an explanation at the end of class, they'd both made up on the spot a rather shoddy answer of how one of their pieces represented the peace in the world and the other represented the war. Surprisingly, the teacher seemed to lap it all up and gave them both A's on their works. They laughed about that one all the way to second period Mad Science and it even took them to lunch, where they were now doing.

"You remind me of someone" Lash said, breaking her little observation of the cafeteria and snapping her mind back to reality. Her heart seemed to skip a beat and she choked on the water she had been drinking. Hastily, she covered it with a cough and gave him a curious look. There's no way he could know...it's impossible, she thought to herself.

"Really? Who?" she asked, running a hand through her hair. She always did that when she was nervous; whenever she wrote exams, her hair would always be a mangled heap of tangles by the time she finished. He was looking at her critically now, in an almost appraising fashion, when he lifted her eyes off of her and looked over her right shoulder. Speed was looking that way as well, and they both had rather dumbfounded expressions on their face. Slowly, she revolved to see what they were looking at and behind her, across the cafeteria, a pretty brunette was standing with a shorter darker skinned girl, both of them beckoning towards their table and both of them glaring at Speed and Lash.

"Uh…listen, we gotta go but I'll see you in Hero History, right? Take a seat at the back" Lash said as both him and Speed got up hastily, gathering their things quickly and then leaving her alone, walking in the direction where the pretty girl had been standing. She sighed annoyingly and then looked over her shoulder, watching them follow the two girls out of the cafeteria. Maybe she had been wrong about the whole flirting thing.

* * *

"This table reserved?"

She looked back around and saw about five people standing infront of her, trays poised in their hands, each of them looking at her rather expectantly. She shook her head and then collected her stuff, gesturing for them to sit.

"No, no, sit. Sorry, I'm new here so I don't know what the cafeteria rules are yet. Am I allowed to sit here?" she asked the group of them as they sat down. The tallest out of all of them, a pale skinned boy with white blonde hair, shrugged and then looked around in an almost paranoid way.

"We wouldn't know, we're freshmen. Just got out of power placement" he explained before settling in to lunch. The five of them talked amongst themselves for a while and she sat in silence, looking around the cafeteria again to just take it all in. She'd missed it.

"So do you know the two guys you were sitting with before?" she heard a voice say. Once again she was brought back down to reality and she looked back at them all, finding the speaker of the voice to be a very pretty red headed girl who had a very friendly disposition.

"Speed and Lash? Yeah, I've known them for a while. They're good guys" she said, causing one of the boys to snort into the pudding he was eating. She glanced at him rather pointedly and he deadpanned, looking immediately guilty for laughing.

"S-sorry" he replied, pushing his glasses up further onto his nose.

"It's all good, anyways, I'm going to go. I'm Alex by the way" she said, picking up her bag and then waving at all of them before departing. She got up and slung her bag over her shoulder, trying not to pay attention to any of the whisperings and pointing that were going on as she passed the tables. Apparently she was a very fascinating subject to discuss, and finally, with a quickened step, she left the vicinity of the cafeteria and into the semi-abandoned hallways. She was walking down the Math wing of the school to go to her locker when voices echoed out from one of the classrooms, catching her attention.

"Homecoming? You sure that's the best idea?"

"Lash, I thought we agreed that you'd be the muscles. Leave the thinking and the planning to me"

She past by the classroom briefly and looked in. The semi-closed doorway gave light to the people in the room; Lash, Speed, and the two girls who had beckoned them from the cafeteria minutes ago. She pressed forward though, not really understanding a word they were saying, and finally reached her locker at the end of the hallway. She busied herself for a couple of minutes, emptying the heavy textbook she'd gotten in Medulla's class into her locker and writing down the homework she'd been assigned on the whiteboard she'd put up. Finally, she sat down on the floor against her locker and withdrew her binder, writing the date at the top of the page and beginning to write.

When her mother passed away, her father had taken her to see a therapist to help deal with the grief. The guy didn't really tell her or do anything to make her feel better about it all, but he did suggest that she keep a diary of her feelings and on goings to help her identify her own individual grief and acceptance process. She'd continued to do it even after she'd gotten over everything because it helped her get a lot of her thoughts out of her head and onto paper. She often found that she had so many ideas and notions floating in her head that she couldn't think properly.

"Why are you feeling nostalgic?" she heard a voice say, breaking the silence she'd been sitting in for the past ten minutes. She slowly looked up and found Lash's head hovering above her own, his neck extending all the way down the hallway to where his body was standing outside the doorway they had been talking in. She hastily shut her book and glared at him, causing his head to retreat to his body and then taking lanky, long steps to reach her.

"Not cool, that was private" she said when he was within ear shot, shoving her binder into her bag and then getting up. He frowned at her as she turned away from him, busying herself with the inside of her locker.

"You're mad. I'm sorry I read that, I didn't know it was private" he said to her back, causing her to cringe a little, mentally kicking herself for snapping at him. He had always hated confrontation and people being mad at him, even when she'd gone to school with him back in first year. She sighed and then turned around, looking at him dead in the eyes. He genuinely looked sorry and she finally broke out a small smile, shutting her locker and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"What, are you an empath too?" she joked as he walked along side her, laughing with her.

"What did those two girls want?" she asked eventually, throwing him a sidelong glance before looking down the abandoned hallway. She felt him fidget a bit but then settled, looking sideways at her and then shrugging.

"Nothing, just student council stuff. Oh, hey, watch this" he said, nudging her and pointing down the hallway where the same group of five freshmen she had sat with at lunch had just appeared. She looked at him quizzically and found that his face was now etched with some sort of emotion that she didn't really register…was it maliciousness?

"Popsicle, hey, I almost thought you forgot about your appointment with Mr. John" he called down the hallway arrogantly, extending his left arm and grabbing the boy who had snorted into his pudding when she'd called Lash and Speed good guys at lunch. The short, dark-skinned boy struggled to get out of Lash's grasp but by the time he'd even managed to wiggle out of it, Lash was already dragging him into the boy's bathroom a couple of steps from her. She ran to the doorway and met up with the four other freshmen, each of them glancing at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Go in and get him!" she cried to the two other boys, the tall pale blonde one exchanging a skeptical look with the other, a very handsome boy with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. When neither of them moved, she sighed angrily and then pushed open the door, walking into bathroom and kicking in the door to the stall Lash and the other boy were occupying. The older boy looked up surprisingly and then grinned when he saw it was her. But she was less then impressed.

"Lash," she said warningly, crossing her arms over her chest and planting her foot down. With one look, Lash immediately let go of the boy who pulled his head out from the toilet, rushing past Alex to get out of the washroom as soon as he could.

"I thought you were kidding" she asked him, not moving from her position and looking at him with a grim set mouth and glaring eyes. He brushed past her and went to the sinks, washing his hands while looking at her in the reflection of the mirror.

"Relax Alex, it's nothing. Just having a little fun" he rationalized.

"Fun? That's not fun. Art Class, that was fun. Lunch, once again fun. This…not fun. This is just plain mean" she said slightly angrily, turning on her heel and blazing out of the washroom, letting the door slam behind her.

Bullying was one of those things that just bothered her. She had seen it all through elementary school and even during her first year at Sky High. It was something that just made her blood boil, among other things. She hated seeing other people pick on those who were younger or smaller just because they felt like it. She really disliked people who bullied, and Lash, although handsome and charming in all his glory, wouldn't be an exception. She had expected more from him. For some reason, her heart felt really heavy as she walked down the hallway and out of that wing. She was really disappointed in him. She'd wanted him to be perfect, for some reason. She had wanted him to be the guy who she had always dreamed of. She'd hoped he would be that guy.

She cursed at herself silently, dumbfounded by the fact that her feelings for him were still there, even after a year and a half. During her first year, she had had the biggest crush on him and now, she felt those feelings coming back. Fuck.

* * *

The bell rang a couple of minutes later and she sighed, pulling out her schedule to see where her next class was. She had Hero History with Mr. Gallion in room 475…except she had no idea where that was. After wandering the school trying to find her classroom, the bell rang again to signal the beginning of the period and she groaned, not wanting to be late for history on her first day back. She reached a stairwell and looked around, biting down on her lip.

It'd take her at least ten minutes to get up to the forth floor on foot, but ten seconds if she flew up. She looked around and saw no one, deciding to rocket herself up there to save time. She jumped up and then took off, reaching the forth floor landing in seconds and touching down. She hastily pushed open the stairwell doors and entered into the hallway, running down the hallway to get to her class.

"Wait, sir, I'm in your cl—"she cried, as she saw a teacher come out into the hallway to close the door. She sprinted to reach there but lost her footing on a patch of slippery tiles and was sent flying onto her backside, hitting the floor with the dull thud. Laughter filled her ears and her eyes flew open, ready to snap on whoever was laughing. She looked to the right and saw an entire classroom of first year heroes standing in their doorway, pointing and laughing at her. She sat up and raised one of her hands, flicking it towards them as if she was smacking someone. Immediately the door to their classroom slammed shut, sending some of them reeling backwards surprisingly. The laughter immediately stopped but they continued to peer at her through the small window the door contained.

She slowly got up and then hobbled over to room 475, where a tall, broad shouldered man was standing in the doorway, looking at her with a cross between concern and humour.

"Ms. George," he greeted her as she entered the classroom, taking slow deliberate steps since her body still hurt from her collision with the floor. Her eyes swept the classroom and she heaved a sigh when she saw that the only available seat in the class was in the back row, beside him. She looked at him, watching him laugh about something with Speed, who saw her first. He nudged Lash who turned to look, meeting her eyes immediately. His face changed from smiling and humorous to guilty and sad the second he saw her. She silently went over to her seat, sitting down and taking out her notebook without making a sound.

They spent the class in silence, only talking to each other and looking at each other when Lash asked to borrow a ruler. The rest of the day followed a similar trend as well, Alex managing to snag a seat away from him in their last two classes.

She walked to her locker at the end of the day, and opened it, dumping her books and binders into it subconsciously. Her mind was still on a different plane; she was still thinking about him. Maybe she could get past the bullying. Hell, maybe she would even be able to change him. The rational part of her brain was telling her that he'd never change but her heart was talking the other part of her brain into believing that he would. She heard his laugh echo down the hallway and she looked to her left, seeing Speed and Lash walking towards her, although neither of them were looking her way. They were laughing at something, as always, and she watched them silently as they made their way to her, still unknowing of her location. Eventually he looked up and saw her again, the smile slowly drooping from his face. He disengaged from Speed, who was now talking to Erica, a fellow third year hero, and walked over to her. He stood beside her and just looked at her, as if everything he wanted to say could be communicated through his eyes.

And to a certain degree, it could be. She could tell he was sorry, and that he didn't want her to hate him. It was powerful, and for around a minute he just looked at her, straight in the eyes, and she looked back. Eventually, Speed called his name and he backed up, still keeping eye contact. Eventually he turned around and she let out the breath that she had held captive in her lungs during their little eye-lock.

Okay, so she could definitely get over the bullying thing. He'd just convinced her, and he didn't even have to speak.

**((Author's Note: Hey!! Thank you my three reviewers! If I don't get a couple of more readers, I'm probably going to finish this story relatively quickly because I have a lot of other stuff going on, but I'll be continuing none the less. Reviews make me SO happy, so do it, okay?))**


	3. Chapter 3

Mistaken Identity

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize! I only lay claim to Kristen/Alex_

**Chapter Three**: Option Two

Notice: This chapter is quite long, but very good :)

* * *

"Oh you've got to be shitting me"

She stood infront of Sky High sign at the front of the school near the bussing strip. She'd just gotten off the bus, her feet only just making contact with the ground, when she'd seen it. A freshman had been taped naked to the billboard which usually informed the students of upcoming dates, the word NARC written across the boy's pale chest in black marker and his privates covered by a piece of red cloth. Students were circled around him, the area maybe ten students deep in each direction, all of them laughing and pointing. As she walked towards the area slowly, she even saw some people taking pictures. And this was supposed to be high school…

Surprisingly, after her little spaz-attack on Lash during her first day, she hadn't seen him do any other random acts of terror for the rest of the week. But that was only when she was with him. There'd been rumblings of their usual bullying but she was never there when they supposedly happened. Whenever she heard about Lash and Speed's continuing reign of terror, she sighed. Rome wasn't built in a day, now. But now, the Monday of her second week at Sky High, she was wondering if she'd made any progress at all.

But as she stood at the edge of group around the boy, she couldn't help but think to herself…had he done this? Shoving a kid into a locker was one thing but stripping him down and taping him up for the entire school to see was another. Public humiliation was something no one should have to experience and as she watched the group around the already traumatized boy swell in size, she felt the anger inside of her grow.

She pushed through the crowd and then got to the small 3 feet in diameter circle of empty space the crowd had left. She looked around at everyone, all eyes now on her and glared at the student body infront of her. These kids were supposed to be heroes and hero support. They were supposed to be above all this, weren't they? They were the cream of the crop…stuff like this wasn't suppose to happen at Sky High. She shrugged her bag off her shoulder and left it at the bottom of the sign, scaling the small wall and eventually reaching a ledge she was able to stand on.

"You alright?" she asked the kid who had resigned to looking down at the ground, to ashamed to even raise his head and look at the 500 odd students laughing at him. So much for pride. But then again, that kinda goes out the window when you're stripped and taped to a sign, now doesn't it?

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her keychain, finding the small red oval shaped object. She pulled a small, but sharp, blade out from the side and went to work, sawing slowly through the tape that strapped the boy to the sign. She heard a wave of groans and a variety of insults thrown her way as she continued to cut the tape, the bell eventually ringing to signal the beginning of the day. Another wave of complaints came and she heard some people shout some mean things her way as she turned around.

"Go Comets!" she cheered sarcastically to the retreating crowd, evoking the school mascot as she rolled her eyes, a couple of hulking, football type guys turning around and giving her the finger. She waved back sweetly in reply and then went back to work, cutting through more duct tape.

"So…what'd you do to get yourself tagged?" she asked the boy, who raised his head and then looked around at the abandoned school yard infront of him.

"Someone took my locker so I went and reported it like we were told to…I guess we weren't supposed to" he explained rather pathetically, managing a weak smile Alex's way. She smiled in return and then started on the last piece of tape that was around his feet. When she finished cutting his feet free, she climbed down and helped him do the same, helping him steady himself as soon as his feet reached solid ground.

"Oh…that's just great" she said as she looked at the base of the school sign, noticing the absence of her black messenger bag. She sighed and then ran a hand through her hair, waiting a couple of seconds before jerking her hand towards the school.

"Let's go see Powers…you need close and I need to get my bag back. What's your name anyways?" she asked the kid who was shivering as they walked towards the school, a brisk, fall breeze washing over them. She pulled her forest green velvet blazer closer to her as they quickened their step, taking the school stairs leading to the front doors two at time.

"Peter Plug. I can control electricity" he said rather timidly, his eyes blinking pretty rapidly as she pulled open the door and gestured for him to enter the school.

"Plug? Well that's kinda ironic" she joked as she lead them to Principal Powers' office. When they reached there she knocked on the door, suddenly realizing that she hadn't asked him what she'd meant to before cutting him down.

"Who did this too you anyways?" she inquired almost nervously, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer or not. Hearing it would mean that she'd been wrong about Lash and that was something she wasn't ready to admit just yet. But not hearing it would mean that she would be blinded by love, actually, more of by crush, and that was something she wasn't ready to admit either.

She really, really, really, really liked Lash. He was charming, funny, ridiculously handsome, witty, caring, and surprisingly really smart. But that was the Lash she knew; that was the Lash he was when she was around. She didn't know who he became when she was absent, and she didn't really know if she wanted to know. In her head, he was pretty darn fantastic and she wasn't ready to have that image tarnished by the fact that he stripped kids down and stuck them onto signs just because they ratted him out.

"Huh? Oh it was two fourth years. Beemer and Screen" Peter said absentmindedly as he shivered, glancing at the Principal's door rather expectantly, clearly wanting to get out of the hallways and out of the view of the students milling the hallway.

She felt something inside of her swell, all the way up to the middle of her chest. She didn't even notice when Principal Powers opened her door and beckoned the two of them inside. She was still off in her parallel universe as Peter recounted what had happened to him. She was too busy mentally beating herself up for ever believing that Lash would be capable of something so utterly humiliating. Shoving kids in lockers was one thing. Stripping them down and putting them on public display was another.

"Ms. George? Mr. Plug mentioned that you bag was stolen when you went to cut him down, is that correct?" Principal Powers said sternly, breaking her from her little trip on Cloud Nine. She snapped to attention and then nodded, confirming the Principal's statement.

"Yeah…it just had a couple binders, my science textbook, my cell phone. Nothing to impor…oh, shit" she muttered as she went down the roll call of her bag's contents.

"Ms. George" Principal Powers said sternly, reprimanding her for her language. Alex cringed as she realized what else had been in her bag. Something that, if it got into the wrong hands, could become quite volatile for whoever read it. No one had ever read it before and as she thought about someone reading her most private thoughts, her stomach turned. The soaring feeling she had felt when she had been told that Lash hadn't bullied Peter was gone in an instant.

"My journal. The journal I've kept since my mother died. Principal Powers—"she said hurriedly, the bile in her throat beginning to rise. She felt as if she were about to be sick.

There were things in that journal that no one would ever know. There were details about her mother, her father, their secret sanctum, missions that they had gone on, private information they had told her in confidence, and more recently, her relationship with Lash. If someone read that, they would know all about her past and who she really was. If they read her journal…she'd be exposed.

"Mr. Plug, report back to class. I assure you both Beemer and Screen will be punished. Ms. George, stay back please" Principal Powers said, mobilizing into action. Peter nodded and shuffled out of the room slowly, confused at what had just happened. He disappeared from the office and she started to speak when the door clicked shut.

"What does that journal contain?" Principal Powers asked her critically, typing something on her computer while glancing at Alex occasionally.

"Everything, my mom, dad, missions. Principal Powers, if someone reads it, they'll know" she said defeatedly, sitting back in her seat and covering her eyes with her hand. She felt like she was going to cry.

Principal Powers looked at her sternly for a couple of seconds, as if about to lecture her for keeping such a book, but thought against it.

"Your bag will be found. I will be calling an immediate school assembly for third period to address this. Go back to class, and give this to your teachers. It'll explain everything" Principal Powers said, taking three freshly printed sheets of paper and handing it to Alex across the desk. Alex accepted them and then nodded, pushing herself out of the comfy chair and walking towards the door. Hollowly, she departed from the office and walked to her art class, walking in and making a bee line straight for Mrs. Bromely's desk. The elderly teacher nodded somberly and then told Alex to take her seat, informing her that they would be continuing on their sketches for the period.

She turned around and then walked over to her desk, taking off her jacket and casting a glance over the classroom. It was oddly quiet, the twenty or so students each hunched over their desk, pencils whizzing across the pages. She eventually found him in a similar position, a pair of earbuds in his ear to block out ambient noise as he drew. His face was contorted with concentration as the pencil in his hand made its way over the page. She made a wide circle around the classroom and then came up behind him, watching from over his left shoulder as he worked.

He was a really amazing artist. Last week, after painting their messy masterpieces on the first day, they went back to painting individually and as Alex's came out as horribly as she expected, Lash's blew her away. He'd drawn an open field at dusk; the sky an inky shade of pink blending into a dark purple. There were splashes of colour in the form of wild flowers and in the half set sun, the silhouettes of two people standing, their fingers gently intertwined. It had taken her breath away and as much as she praised him for it, he downplayed it. He was an amazing artist, but didn't want the credit it merited.

She watched him for a couple of seconds, his hand sketching what seemed like a jaw. Eventually, she plunked herself down in the chair beside him and successfully got his attention by his movement. He stopped drawing and flipped his sketch book shut, pulling out his earbuds and smiling at her. God, he was cute.

* * *

"Hey, where were you? Me and Speed were looking for you in the caf before classes" he asked as she brushed her wavy hair behind her and swept it up into a messy bun. She took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes, turning to look at him while she rested her head in her hand.

"I cut down the freshman that Beemer and Screen had taped to the school sign. Sort of got caught up there, and with getting my bag stole" she admitted defeatedly as she pushed the desktop up and withdrew her sketchbook from its interior. She stole the pencil right out of Lash's hand and started to doodle.

"Your bag got stolen? By who?" he asked her rather concernedly as he stole his pencil bag, causing her to whine sarcastically.

"I don't know. I got down and it was gone. So let me use your pencil," she said, reaching over him and taking it from his hand, "Since I don't have any of my own"

She looked at him pointedly and realized that they were remarkably close. Their noses were inches if not centimeter's away and for the first time, he was looking at her directly in the eyes without having to look through the lenses of her glasses. He was looking at her, taking everything in, and his eyes flickered to her bow-shaped lips for a couple of seconds. She had reached over him to get his pencil but hadn't realized how close she had become to him. She met his eyes again and she noticed how despite seeming to be a very dark brown, they were actually a lot lighter up close. His eyes were flecked with strokes of gold and grey and she was immediately caught up with the intricate pattern the different colours of his eyes made. His eyes were truly captivating.

"Your eyes have a bit of green in them" he said to her in a bear whisper, not breaking the eye contact. His breath hit her cheek and she shivered slightly, trying to hide it from him. She smiled slightly, biting down on her lip to prevent herself from grinning, but didn't look away. He smiled in return, a faint echo of a smile playing along his lips as they continued to look at each other, each one waiting for the other to do or say something. But neither of them did anything. They just sat there, inches apart, looking at each other straight in the eyes for a minute…two minutes… three minutes…they finally reached five minutes when they were finally disrupted.

"This is Principal Powers and I am speaking to inform the school that during third period today there will be a school wide assembly taking place in the gymnasium. Classes are to depart from their rooms immediately after the bell is rung and to make their ways as quickly as possible to the gym. Thank you"

As soon as they had heard her voice, all twenty five pairs of eyes in the art room zoomed towards the television in the top, right hand corner of the room. They saw Principal Powers sitting at her desk addressing them and when she was done, the television shut off. Alex's eyes lingered on the TV well after it had gone back to its typical black screen, not sure of what to do. Slowly and rather robotically, she turned back to Lash who had returned back to his drawing, although was not listen to music.

"Was there anything important in your bag?" he asked her in his usual tone. _Okay, so we're just going to pretend as if our five minute staring contest from heaven didn't just happen? Sounds good to me!_ She thought to herself as she opened her sketch book to a new page and began to draw.

"My journal…it's the only thing I'm worried about. There's some stuff in there I'd really prefer not get out" she said sadly, bringing her pencil off the page as she was once again filled with the dreaded feeling of defeat the mere thought of someone exposing her brought.

"Your journal? Oh, shit" he murmered, looking at her sympathetically. She nodded sadly but went back to drawing, staying silent in thought for the remainder of the period. She kept her eyes on her page, drawing absentmindedly as her mind remained focused on her journal. She felt him stealing glances at her but she didn't dare meet his eyes. As much as she had loved looking into them before, the looming thought of her identity being exposed to her classmates and even more specifically him, was the only thing on her mind. She didn't want him to know who she really was because that girl wasn't the one he joked with all the time, laughed with, and had five minute staring contests with. Kristen Force wasn't who Lash liked, Alexandra George was. And she didn't want him to know that they were infact the same person.

* * *

"I do not think that I need to inform all of you about the seriousness of the situation. A student was harassed and physically assaulted today on school grounds while another was the victim of a theft. One student was used as a human billboard while another had one of the most personal belongings to her stolen. Needless to say, I, along with the faculty here at Sky High, am deeply disappointed with all of you. First, because two of our students would do such a thing to another and second, that someone would steal the belongings of the student who helped get the other one down. And then you wonder why people do not help others in need more often. Having her belonging's stolen was the thanks she got for doing what I would have expected from anyone" Principal Powers said sternly through the microphone, her voice echoing off the gym walls and into the ears of every student.

There was an eerie silence among the student body. This assembly didn't have the typical whisperings going on; instead, everyone was quiet. Everyone was quiet and attentively listening to the Principal as she lectured them all.

Alex was sitting off to the side of Principal Powers, her arms crossed over her chest and a look of loathing upon her face. Her sadness over her stole bag and journal had quickly developed into rage and hate for whoever took it. She was ready to completely destroy whoever took her bag and was quickly searching the crowd of students infront of her. Everyone was looking at Principal Powers with a blank expression and finally, she sighed quietly and looked over to Lash and Speed, who were sitting off to the right of her. Lash met her eyes a couple of seconds later and he gave her a sad smile. She managed to return one half heartedly and then looked back at Principal Powers, who had begun to speak again.

"Locker searches will be commencing as soon as you all return to class and whenever we find the stolen bag, which we will, the guilty party will be severely punished. However, if the person who stole the bag returns it to me by the end of the day, I can assure that person that the utmost secrecy will be taken and the punishment will be light. That is all" she said, dismissing the school as she side stepped from the podium and dissolved into a thousand tiny crystals of bright light.

Alex's anger was slowly softening back into self-pity. It was only a matter of time before the whole entire school knew who she really was. Anyone smart enough would have found the journal by now and after being notified of the locker searches by Principal Powers 's seconds ago, is probably going to stash it some where safe. That journal was the only thing in the school that related her to Kristen Force. It was the only document that verified her parentage and confirmed who she really was. Who ever had taken it had probably read it by now and was waiting for the opportune moment to expose her, calling her out and shattering whatever progress she had made with her life. She wasn't Kristen Force anymore. Kristen Force was a bad nightmare as far as she was concerned. She was trying, fighting, to let her past go. She was Alexandra George now. And as the minutes past, the chances of her getting her journal back grew slim. And so were her chances of ever moving on with her life.

* * *

He walked down the hallway chatting idly with Speed, his stripped arms hanging loosely at his side as they trudged up two flights of stairs to go back to their Mad Science lab. As they exited from the second floor stairwell and hung a right, he glanced over his shoulder briefly but something caught his eye. Something suspicious caught his eye.

A short, red headed boy was fidgeting with something in his locker. He was looking around jerkily, his eyes flickering from side to side as his arms groped the contents of his locker. Lash stopped walking and was now standing idly in the stream of students coming out from the stairwell, watching this boy closely. With a squint of his eyes, he noticed that the boy was infact sweating as he continued to hastily search the inside of his locker for whatever he was looking for. Finally, he seemed to find it, since he stopped looking around and was now looking at his hands. He pulled what he had found out of his locker and held it in his hands. Lash's eyes grew in horror.

He recognized the pale blue cover immediately. He knew the design by heart, since he'd seen her write in it so many times. He didn't know what was in it, but he knew that it was important to her. And there was no way some little snot nose sidekick freshman was about to fuck around with Alex.

"SPEED" Lash yelled, pointing frantically to the boy who was still gazing at the small journal in his hand, as if he'd just discovered the meaning of life. His arm shot outwards as the other boy's eyes found the red head as well, along with the book. Both Speed and Lash's arm hit him at the same time.

The journal went flying in the air as Speed tackled the boy with full speed. Lash had managed to knock it out of his hands before Speed hit him and was now grabbing the journal out from mid air, bringing it back to him protectively before running over to Speed and the boy who was now pinned down.

"You chose the wrong bag to steal, Freshman" Lash said as he bent over the struggling boy, who looked utterly terrified. He spluttered in protest but Speed and Lash just laughed, Lash walking over to the boy's locker and pulling out Alex's bag. He stashed the journal back into it and then gestured for Speed to pick the boy up.

"We're going to take a little trip down to Principal Powers's office and you're going to tell her who you are, what you did, and how you didn't read the journal, got it?" Lash asked threateningly. The boy nodded feverously out of fear but Speed glanced at Lash confusedly, as if he'd just seen a pig fly.

"What do you mean—wanna stop struggling?" Speed began, being interrupted by the wiggling freshman in his hand. The older boy responded to the continuing struggle by pushing the younger one into the locker and slamming it shut, locking it so he could talk to his partner in crime.

"You wanna go to Powers? I mean the closest bathroom is just around the corner" Speed asked him rather incredulously, pointing over his left shoulder and down the hall.

"It's Alex's stuff and she would want this taken care of the right way. Powers will do way more damage then we will anyways, she looked like she was about to burst a vein at the assembly today" Lash explained, opening the locker and pulling the freshman out.

Without argument, Speed obliged and followed his friend down the hall, the journal safe in the bag from whence it came.

* * *

"Did you find it??" she asked breathlessly as she threw open Principal Powers' door, eager to see what the principal had called her out of her last period class for.

Sitting neatly on one of the comfy chairs infront of Principal Powers' desk was Alex's messenger bag, looking as normal as always. Upon sight of it, Alex screamed so loud she thought she was going to break glass and then proceeded to rip open the bag and search through the contents, screaming again when she saw her journal. She'd never been so happy before in her life.

"Mr. Davenport and Mr. O'Dell managed to some how apprehend the guilty party. Does the name…Frank Espirito mean anything to you?" Principal Powers asked, reading from her computer screen. Alex, clutching her journal to her chest, managed to shake her head no and then gathered her bag, standing up.

"Principal Powers, thank you so much for everything. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't of found it" she gushed as she swung her bag over her shoulder, the light blue book still clutched tightly against her. The principal smiled but shook her head.

"Don't thank me, Ms. George. Thank Mr. Davenport and Mr. O'Dell. They were the ones who brought me both Mr. Espirito and your bag" she explained, raising an eyebrow expectantly towards Alex before smiling at her. Alex looked at her confusedly, the names not ringing a bell.

"Who?"

The Principal laughed once more and then looked at Alex warmly, leaning towards her.

"You may know them better as Speed and Lash"

* * *

She searched for him desperately after school, not too sure what she would do when she saw him. She was torn between the tried and tested hug with a gushing thank you or the bolder kiss accompanied by the asking the person out for a date. Right now she was gung ho for the second option, but she expected that it would change when he came into the picture.

She was standing by her locker, peering desperately down the hallway for the sign of the monochromatic colour scheme of his sweater. She searched through the crowds, desperately trying to find the two tones of him, still not too sure what she would do when she finally saw him.

"Looking for someone?"

She jumped and reeled around, finding him leant against the locker beside hers as he smirked at her in that sexy fashion he seemed to have perfected. She opened her mouth to say something but didn't, instead just pausing to look at him. His hands were buried deep in the pockets of his jeans and he was still smirking at her, watching as she watched him. Finally, she sighed and shifted her weight onto her left leg, holding onto her locker.

"You found my journal" she said exasperatedly, looking at him gratefully, her eyebrows pushed upwards and a genuine smile on her lips. He looked down at his shoes and then looked up, the arrogant, yet sexy, smirk being replaced by a genuine and equally as heart stopping smile.

"I found your journal" he confirmed, his eyes locked onto her's. She looked straight back at him as she bit down on her lip, a habit she seemed to be gaining.

"You didn't read my journal" she said, leaning her head against her locker door as he looked down again, this time letting out a chuckle. He looked back up at her and shook his head, his smile growing.

"I didn't read your journal" he repeated, causing her to bite down on her lip with more vigor. She was preventing herself from grinning, since this moment was way to fairy tale to not smile in. He was _literally_ her Prince Charming since he'd saved her from a horrible fate. Well sure, it wasn't as melodramatic as that, but you get the point.

"And you probably beat up the kid who had taken it in the first place" she said with a sarcastic honesty, her look of genuine thankfulness changing into knowing, but happy.

This time he didn't look down. He looked at her and then stood up, his mouth setting into a grim line as he rolled back on the balls of his heel before shaking his head. She was stunned for a second._ Say what?!?_

"No, I didn't beat him up. We took him straight to Principal Powers. I figured that's what you would have wanted" he rationalized as he titled his head downwards so his hair fell infront of his eyes but kept them on her's. She stayed silent, her face blank of any emotion. He hadn't beaten up the kid. He hadn't bullied the kid. He hadn't done anything to the kid because that's what she would have wanted. _Holy shit._

He must have read her face wrong because after a couple of seconds of silence, he sighed rather dejectedly and then turned to leave, taking two steps before she disengaged from her locker. She grabbed his hand and by the time he had turned around, her lips had already made contact with his.

The momentum of his spin continued and she eventually made contact with the lockers, her back hitting them softly as he pushed her up against them, his lips pressed against her's with such passion she thought she was going to faint. She heard his bag fall off his shoulders and his hands immediately found her waist, pulling her tighter to him while her's pressed up against his chest, their lips eagerly crashing onto each other's once more. What seemed like seconds later they broke apart, each gasping for breath. He rested his forehead against her own, leaning down gently to do so, but locked his eyes on her own.

Her heart was beating at a million times per hour and from the position of her right hand, she could feel that his was beating just as fast. After a couple of seconds, they regained their breath but their hearts kept pounding, both unknowing to the stares and points they were getting from the entire hallway. All she could see and feel was him, and he the same.

Guess she went with option two.

* * *

**((Author's Note: hehe...that last scene was so much fun to write. I 3 Lash. Thanks for ALLLL the support :) You all rock my mismatched socks!! This chapter was a bit longer then I intended it to be but I didn't want to divide it into two smaller chapters since chopping it up would be a break in the action and I really wouldn't even know where to end this chapter. So you get a nice, long, 5000 word chapter FREE OF CHARGE :) Next chapter is going to be Lash's POV because all we know is how Alex feels about him. Things will get very interesting...now hit that little purple button and REVIEW IT, pleaseeee ; )) **


	4. Chapter 4

Mistaken Identity

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize! I only lay claim to Kristen/Alex_

**Chapter Four**: A slap to the face

Notice: I know I said that the next chapter would be Lash'ss POV, but I couldn't think of what to write so...I'm terribly sorry, because this chapter is kinda sketchy. It progress the plot, and things are to come so.

* * *

She really had no idea what she was going to do or say when she saw him. After their little burst of sexual tension yesterday after school, they both sort of went their separate ways without talking about it after it happened. He had told her that he'd see her later and she managed a wave in return, still a little stunned after everything to speak. He continued walking down the hall and that had been that. But what did it mean?!?

She didn't want to be the typical girl, but she was kind of stressed about it. Were they a couple now? Were they even dating? Was he going to expect more kissing? Millions and millions of thoughts were rushing through her head as she sat on the bus to school the next morning, her body stiff as the vehicle whipped violently through the air on its turbulent route to the high school. _This is why women like to talk. We turn into psycho paranoid freaks if we don't_, she thought to herself as the school came into view, the bus driver setting the yellow bus down with a little bump, bringing her back down from her Lash-induced coma. She got off the bus and walked onto the school grounds, a wind gently playing with her curls as it washed over her. She brushed them out of her eyes and then paused as she stood on the grass of the school's front grounds, observing the school. Students were milling about, moving in groups as they talked and traded answers to last night's Mad Science homework. Some people were walking alone, some were planted at designated positions were they met their friends everyday. But her? She just kinda walked around until she found someone she knew.

Was she a loner? Because she lacked a pre-school routine, did that make her a classified loner? She wasn't good with social situations, and the thought of already being designated an outcast

"Hey Alex," she heard someone say to her left, a very pretty girl with brown hair and shockingly bright blue streaks materializing at her side. She smiled at the girl, feeling slightly better after her small social anxiety attack she just had.

"Hey Nikki. What's up?" she asked the girl in response, the pair of them moving to the school steps, taking a seat on the third one.

Nikki Stokes was a third year sidekick, not that it really mattered to Alex. She'd met her one day in the caf after she had been unable to find either Lash or Speed. She'd spotted the girl sitting alone and decided to sit down and make a friend. They'd bonded pretty quickly, and she had been the only person in school before yesterday's incident that knew about her feelings for Lash.

"Ugh, nothing. Just dreading History. We have a term paper due today and let's just say mine's significantly horrible" Nikki replied, grimacing as she thought of her assignment.

They sat side by side and talked for the next ten minutes or so, their group growing slowly as time passed. It now included her, Nikki, Erica Peck from Alex's hero class, and Curtis Herb, a very handsome dark skinned boy who was in third year hero support along with Nikki.

"You really need to stop trying to find me"

Alex had been staring off into space again, her eyes absentmindedly searching the grounds infront of her for…something. Okay fine, _someone._ She did it out of habit, really. She didn't NEED to see him. She usually did it without even knowing. Her eyes were always trying to find his zebra stripped arms, except time this time she had missed it completely since he'd managed to sneak up behind her and whisper in her ear.

She jolted to attention and looked over her shoulder, finding him right behind her except one step up. He was sitting down, his elbows on his knees and he was leaning forward, his hair falling infront of his eyes. It pretty much took her entire vault of will power not to jump him again right then and there. She looked back at the group of friends infront of her and found that they had continued on the conversation without her, although Nikki was now throwing looks her way that seemed to communicate that she wanted her to go with Lash.

"I wasn't looking for you. I was just staring off into space. It's what happens when someone has a lot of things on their mind, not that I'd think you'd know what that feels like" she teased as she gathered her stuff, getting up off the steps and waving to her friends. He got up as well and then laughed, letting out a low whistle as the pair of them made their way up the rest of the steps.

"Low blow Alex, that was just uncalled for" he responded as they pulled open the school doors, venturing inside for their homeroom art class. She laughed as he dramatically clutched his heart for a few seconds before letting go, subsiding into laughter as well. They finally reached her locker when she responded.

"I was just kidding. You must have so much on your mind right now. Like whether or not to give the freshmen you're going to terrorize today swirlies or stuff them into lockers?" she said wittingly, pushing open her locker door and throwing him a humorous look with her best imitation of his smirk. He laughed again and then watched her for a couple of seconds as she unloaded her bag, his eyes taking special notice as she withdrew her blue journal, cracked open the cover of it before placing it back into her bag.

"Actually I was wondering what's in that journal of yours"

She turned to look at him, gauging whether or not to make a joke. Usually, had it been any other situation, she would have. But that had been something off about his voice. It didn't have that arrogant, contemptuous, sarcastic tone that it usually always did. It was softer, gentler, and even a little bit honest. He didn't want to verbally fight with her jokingly like they always did. He wanted the truth.

But she wasn't ready to give it to him.

"Stuff. I just…I have a past. Some stuff has happened that I don't want anyone knowing. The journal is a record of all of it. If I write it down, it's out of my head. I don't know it's…complicated" she said, rationalizing with her voice as she pleaded with her eyes. She really didn't want to get into the complications of her journal with him right now. They hadn't known each other for very long and although she really, really, really, liked him, she didn't want to scare him off.

He looked at her carefully, searching her eyes for some crack in the guards she knew she had up. Finally his mouth curled into a smirk and he leaned against the locker beside her, looking down at his shoes.

"It must be really important then if you kissed me yesterday just for finding it" he said, looking up as he finished his sentence. He was grinning at her again, his hair falling sexily infront of his eyes which seemed to be flashing with passion, maybe even hunger. She looked back at him and leaned against her locker door to face him, examining him critically. She smirked back at him, his smile growing bigger as he saw her do so.

"I didn't kiss you because you found it" she replied, lifting her bag over her shoulder and hanging it in her locker. She went back to busying herself with preparing herself for the school day a head, making sure she had her homework. Her internal sensors went on the fritz again and she tried to calm herself down, relieved that at least they were going to somewhat talk about what happened.

"Then why did you kiss me?" he asked rather curiously, sliding his way closer to her. She watched him move close and cast a rather pointed look his way before returning her attention to her locker. She shrugged her shoulders and then pulled out her whiteboard marker, wanting to write down on her board a time she had to remember. She had a doctor's appointment later that day and knew that if she didn't write down the time, it'd escape her mind completely.

"I felt like it" she replied rather cheekily, smiling at him while looking at him rather unintentionally seductively over her shoulder as she turned her back to him and wrote down a memo for herself on her whiteboard. The bell rang, signaling the five minute mark before school began and she looked up, as if acknowledging it. The hallway was suddenly swimming with students and the sound level had gotten significantly louder. She pulled out her bag and binders from her locker, slamming it shut and locking it.

"I gotta go see Powers before class, see you there?" she asked as she swung it over her shoulder, sliding her binder into it and then flipping it shut. He nodded and then took a step infront of her, their paths crossing. She waited for him to move but when he didn't, she looked up. She looked up just in time to meet his eyes before he closed his, their lips making contact seconds later.

Her's immediately shut too and the familiar sensation of the butterflies came back. Her back was up against the locker in seconds and while one of his hands hand was at her hip, the other was cupped around her cheek, as if to pull her closer. He didn't need to do that though, since she had was gripping the sides of his sweater against his ribs so tightly, pulling him closer, that he was practically flat against her. Their lips were crashing on each other's, as if they were dying teenagers with only seconds to get out whatever passion they had left. She couldn't even register what was going on. And for the first time, she was glad. She was glad her mind wasn't churning and thinking while she kissed him, his lips tasting faintly like the flavour of gum he chewed religiously. She was glad that her brain wasn't working in overtime as the hand around her hip clenched slightly as she gently nipped at his bottom lip. Her mind was still and she felt…alive. He was lighting something inside of her; sparking something that had previously gone out. She didn't want to think. If this is what it felt like to just stop thinking, she wanted to feel like that forever.

By the time they knew it, the second bell was ringing and the hallway was pretty much abandoned, save for the handful of stragglers. She broke apart from him and turned her head to the side, breathing heavily as she tried to gain her composure back. Her bag had slid off her shoulder and was now a heap on the floor and the felt the rigid pattern of the air slits in the lockers embedded into her back from being pressed up against it for five minutes. _FIVE MINUTES._

"What was that for?" she asked him rather breathlessly. She leant her head against the locker behind her and tried to steady her breathing, her heart beating at about a billion beats per second. She noticed that her hands were still gripping his sweater, the material wrinkling between her fingers, and his were still on her as well. He smiled at her and then ran his thumb over her lips before brushing some hair out of her eyes, the feeling of his index finger trailing along her neck after he did so making her shiver. She didn't bother trying to hide it from him either, because he was still so close that he would have felt it either way.

"I just felt like it"

She was even more confused now. Their second round of kissing ended the same way, Alex going off to Principal Powers's office and Lash going to class. After a brief meeting with the Principal about her journal, she leisurely walked back to class, her feet moving at a snails pace as her mind raced at a much faster speed. What did it all mean? He kissed her today for no good reason and it was quite the little make out session they had had right in the middle of the hallway. They either needed to justify what they were doing by beginning a relationship or save the tonsil hockey till they were alone.

She walked into art class staring straight ahead of her, her feet taking her directly to Ms. Bromely's desk and handing the teacher the late excuse slip Powers had given her. When the teacher nodded and told her what they were working on, she turned slowly on her heel and focused her eyes on the floor. She walked to her station and pulled out the chair, trying not to notice Lash's movement as he turned to greet her.

"Hey, can I borrow your blue pas—"

"What are we?" she interrupted him, cutting off his words as her thoughts just burst from her. She couldn't take not knowing what they were. The indecision was killing her and she just needed to know whether or not they were in a relationship. She turned and looked at him robotically, watching as his features passed from confusion, to realization, and then surprisingly humour. A smirk was growing on his lips and his eyes seemed to be sparkling a little bit as he looked at her for a few seconds before returning his attention to his pastel drawing.

"What do you mean?" he asked, playing dumb. She glared at him and nudged him softly, shooting him an annoyed glare his way as soon as he looked up. He laughed quietly and then put down his drawing tools, turning to face her directly. He rested an elbow on his desk and then rested his head in his hand, surveying her appraisingly.

"I mean what are we? Are we just friends, are we fooling around, are we in a relationship? It doesn't really matter what we are as long as I know we're something. Except for the fooling around thing. That bothers me. I don't understand the concept" she said, talking to herself a little bit as she finished her thought. He laughed and watched her battle with herself in her head before turning to look at him again expectantly, waiting for an answer.

He looked at her again, unsure of what to do. She was just waiting for him, giving him total control to decide what they were to do next. After a couple of seconds he retracted from his position against the desk and stood up, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the class. He resisted as she tried to fight off his grip, the elderly teacher so caught up in the novel she was reading to notice the two of them slip out.

"Lash? An answer would be ni—"

She was cut off by his lips pressing against her's as he kissed her, catching her off guard as she gathered her bearings before surrendering to the kiss. She felt his tongue rim her lips and she met it with her own, their tongue's now caught in a battle for dominance. As she flailed her arms slightly, trying to find something of him to hold onto as his hands gripped her waist tightly, she settled by resting them around his neck, bringing her left hand and gently running her fingers down his throat. She heard him let out a throaty groan and the noise brought her back to reality, and she pulled herself away from him. She pushed him away from her and smacked him in the face, hard, her eyes glaring at his and her face contorted with anger.

"Stop that! Stop randomly kissing me! It's not fair!" she yelled, her lips throbbing from all this unexpected kissing. He was still in shock from her slap, her hand leaving a tingling mark on his face that he was now holding. His expression was nothing short of awe, and even, if she could guess right, some sort of impressive tones.

"You're the first person to ever slap me" he said, his voice a little quiet, as he continued to look at her with a gob struck expression, as if he couldn't believe what just happened.

"Yeah well you deserved it. Kissing me doesn't answer the question. It just fucks it up even more" she noted rather harshly, planting her foot down and folding her arms over her chest.

What the hell was he playing at? Just as she was asking him what the hell they were, he goes and kisses her again. She continued to glare at him as he just looked at her, his hand over the palm mark on his cheek, his eyes sparkling in the bright, fluorescent lights above. He just stood there, almost a statue, as she continued to glare at him with anger. Finally, he spoke.

"You just slapped me"

"Yeah, and if you kiss me again you'll see what happens" she replied rather threateningly. She was a little bit confused though. Why was he acting as if she'd just figured out the meaning of life? He was looking at her so oddly that it was making her slightly uncomfortable. Her expression lessened a bit, and she unfolded her arms and then ran a hand through her hair, fustrated. She couldn't make anything of his expression.

"What?" she asked him finally, unable to take the suspense he was building by staring at her incredulously.

"You just slapped me"

"Yep"

"Date me?"

**((Author's Note: Yeah...kinda in a bad mood, so please review. It'll make me happy :) ))**


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